The road less travelled by

The week is quickly coming to an end and I still have so much to do. I have already promised myself I will slow down for a while after I finish this course. My husband laughs when I tell him this, my kids just disregard it. They think I’m crazy and that I’ll never change.

But let’s get serious. This week came as refreshment, as I got involved again in PBL and I paid a bit more attention to WebQuests. I had done one or two some time ago, but then I kind of forgot how challenging they can be for both students and teachers. I think I’ll get back to them soon. I just wish I had more time to work with my students! I feel I’m putting a lot of pressure on them, giving them a lot of hard work that will have to be done mostly after school. Just hope the parents won’t start complaining.

The truth is I got so enthusiastic about this whole thing that I’ve done some research and I found some interesting sites with WebQuests ready to use. Check my WebQuests stack.

Another important moment this week was my brainstorming for the final project. I have listed a few tools I may use and I have decided what I’ll be using them for. There is hard work ahead, though. I feel I am at crossroads; there are so many roads ahead and I’m still not sure which one to take. It reminded me of that Robert Frost poem:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

In a way I think it summarizes my situation, probably yours, too. I’d like to do something different (the road less travelled by), I’d like to make a difference, but if I choose wrongly it will make all the difference too.

Assessment was another buzz word this week: rubrics, alternative assessment, even self-assessment. Although I find that self and peer assessment is important for students, I don’t really feel it’s necessary here. This is not a competition or, if it is, it is a competition against myself: I want to be better, do better, inspire more.

But, going back to students, I really believe that the way we assess them can make all the difference. You can bring out the best in a student if you are fair and thorough in your assessment. Testing is important too, but you only get part of the picture; there are so many other skills, even communicative skills that you only perceive and assess through alternative activities and alternative assessment methods.

In our minds there is always this idea of an ideal teacher we would like to be. I definitely think this course will help us get closer to that idea. Thank you all.